Will Power: A Djinn Short (7 page)

Something slammed into me. I was knocked sideways with enough force that I slid along the ground.
 

I looked down.

Kyra had tackled me and was clinging onto my shirt as we moved. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders not wanting her to be hurt. If we hit anything it wouldn’t matter to me, but she didn’t deserve to be in any more pain than we were causing now.

We slid to a stop. Kyra’s gaze was fixed on me. This was the first time she had seen me in my true form and she looked shocked.

What was she thinking? Was she afraid of me? Intrigued? Attracted?

“Are you alright?” I asked.

I felt the slightest bit of pressure in my stomach. Looking down, I saw the knife in my gut, Kyra’s hand on the blade.

So she hated me. Of course she did. I was attacking her and the person she believed to be her father.

Her bright golden eyes bulged, staring at the knife. I didn’t think she’d ever hurt anyone before. The poor girl. Why did she have to be wrapped up in all this?

She pulled the blade out. I didn’t feel it and there would only be a small cut.

“What …?” she breathed and dropped the blade.

She was confused and I wasn’t helping. I wanted to help her. I wanted to pull her in close and continue to feel the warmth of her skin against mine.

Wait.

I could feel her warmth. I could feel? It was only the slightest hint in my arms around her, but it was definitely there like when she’d touched my fur.

Her skin felt soft and wet. The sensation was beginning to fade. I wasn’t in control of it. I’m not even sure how I did it at all.

I pulled a clump of leaves and mud from her damp hair. Our eyes locked and I wanted that feeling to return.

Malcolm’s screams cut like thunder.

“Dad!” Kyra shouted.

Malcolm was on his knees, Pyke standing over him with ice in hand, several wounds already inflicted to Malcolm’s chest. Kyra pushed me away and scrambled toward them.

“Dad!” she screamed again.

We had won this fight. We could take Kyra easily, but that wasn’t the point. We weren’t kidnapping her. We were returning her. How was she ever going to accept the Djinn as her people if she thought we were murderers?

Ivan had ordered me to kill the Blooder. He deserved it and Pyke deserved to be the one to do it, but I couldn’t let it happen.

Bringing Kyra home was my mission. I wouldn’t give her any more reasons not to trust us.

Kyra was on the ground, screaming at Pyke to stop. He was going to hate me for this, but killing the Blooder wasn’t going to bring his father back. Keeping him alive might keep Kyra with us.

I grabbed Pyke’s arm before he could strike. “Don’t do it, Pyke,” I said.

Pyke yanked his arm and tried to push me away, but I held on.

“Let me go, Will! I have to.”

I heard the desperation in his voice and I hated to hurt him like this. I twisted Pyke’s wrist and he dropped the icicle. Using my body weight, I forced Pyke into a headlock.

“I won’t let you do it,” I said. “Calm down and stick with the mission.”

Pyke struggled more and more. I leaned close to his ear. “I know you want to do this. He deserves it, but you promised you’d follow my orders and I’m telling you not to kill him.”

Pyke groaned through gritted teeth and went limp. I released him and he slumped to his knees.
 

I had expected him to disobey me. I thought I’d have to knock him out, but I’d underestimated Pyke. He was putting his Guardjinn responsibilities before his own interests.

He was a better Guardjinn than me.

I had disobeyed Ivan’s orders. It was my duty to do as I was told, but I’d lied.

I’d lied for her.

Chapter Fourteen

Mia pushed up off the ground and stared daggers toward us.
 

“You good?” I asked her.

Her brows were scrunched and lips pulled in a thin line. I noticed the cut on her cheek and wondered if Kyra had done that.

“I’ll be fine,” she replied.

“Grab Kyra,” I said.

“Get up.” Mia pulled Kyra’s arm and twisted it behind her back.
 

Kyra’s eyes were locked on Malcolm. He smiled at her. “It’s okay, kiddo. I love you.”

I punched him in the jaw, knocking him out. His words sounded genuine. Did he really love Kyra? Or was it all an act for gaining her trust?

Of course he was acting, I thought. He’s a Blooder.

“Dad!” Kyra screamed, and realised that knocking him out in front of her had been a poor move.

Kyra struggled to break free of Mia’s grip.

“Mia, you’re hurting her,” I said.

Pyke rose, his fists clenched and a dark look in his eye. He was angry with me. I knew it.

“Relax, Will,” he said. “We have to be careful with this one. She’s got fighting skills.”

“Ivan requested she not be hurt,” I said and felt a twist in my gut for throwing Ivan’s orders in Pyke’s face, knowing that killing Malcolm had been one of them.

“I agree with Pyke,” Mia said. “She needs to be hurt a little.”

Had they both completely forgotten that our mission was to save her? I felt Kyra’s gaze on me, but I didn’t want to look at her and be reminded of how she made me feel.

“You won’t hurt her. Either of you.”

“I don’t want to hurt
her
.”
 

Pyke was crossing the line again and I gave him a stern look. I knew this was hard for him. I was surprised how well he was behaving.

“She cut my face, Will!” Mia pointed to her bleeding cheek. “My face!”

“If you ask me, it’s an improvement,” Pyke replied.

“No one asked you!” she snapped.

“Enough!” I said. “We got what we came for. It’s time to go.”

“What about him?” Pyke looked at Malcolm with such disgust that I wanted to tell him the truth. “Let’s kill him.”

“No!” Kyra shouted. “You can’t. Please, I’ll go with you, just don’t hurt him!”

Mia smiled. “Darling, you don’t really have a choice whether you come with us or not.”

“Stop struggling.” Pyke stared at Kyra with pity. Did it hurt him to see her believe such a lie?

“Trust me,” he said. “You’ll want us to kill him when you find out
—
”

“Quiet, Pyke!” I snapped. “Ivan requested
—
”

“Oooh, Ivan requested.” Pyke’s anger was getting the better of him.

“Grow up,” Mia said.

She was trying to play it cool, but I knew deep down she was worried about Pyke. It was the reason she’d come on this mission in the first place.

“Ivan wanted to tell her. We are only supposed to retrieve her.”
 

Just keep on lying, Will. Way to go.

“Please. Don’t kill my dad. Please!”
Kyra stared at me with a fierce gaze that I couldn’t deny. I locked eyes with her; such beautiful eyes, pleading eyes.
 

I was disobeying orders and lying to my best friend for those eyes. No, not just her eyes. All of her.

“We’re leaving,” I said and turned away. I couldn’t let myself think about her. I’d return her home and then I’d go back to normal life. I’d get a posting at the palace and never see her again.

“Will?” Pyke said.

“Leave him,” I ordered and walked way.

“You can’t be serious.”

I made my way to the car and slid inside. I rested my head on the steering wheel and resisted the urge to slam my skull against it. I wouldn’t feel anything anyway.

Or would I?

Tonight I had proved that I could control my sense of touch. It was possible to feel, but did I want to? What had the sensation of touch done for me? Only made my life more complicated.

Before, I’d known what I was: Guardjinn. Protector. Soldier. I had a duty.

And now?

I wanted to touch Kyra. I wanted her to look at me without fear and hate. I wanted to know the feeling of her hands entwined with mine.

I slammed my fist against the door.

Why did that eccentric healer Sylvia have to say anything? I wouldn’t have even thought about this if it weren’t for her. But deep down I knew it was me; I obsessed over her cryptic words that were most likely the ramblings of a lonely woman.

Mia hopped into the back seat and I pulled on my seatbelt.

“Pyke’s bringing her,” she said. “And thank you for stopping him. The Blooder deserves to die, but Pyke shouldn’t be the one to do it. No good would come from it.”

“Pyke just needs something in his life to distract him from all the hate,” I said.

Mia nodded and pulled out a mirror to examine her face.

I just needed something to distract me from her.
 

I knew what I had to do. The longer I was around Kyra the more tempted I’d be. I wasn’t sure I had the will power to resist the lure of her touch. I needed to distance myself. Everything would be fine if I just stayed away from her and didn’t ever try to turn on my sense of touch again.

Things were better when I didn’t feel anything.

About the Author

Laura Catherine is a Young Adult author focusing on Paranormal Romance, Dystopia, Urban Fantasy, and Fantasy.

She writes stories full of action, secrets and magic. She loves creating worlds where anything is possible and everyone has a story to tell. She has an over-active imagination, spends a lot of her time daydreaming, and wishes pokemon were real so she could have one.

Laura Catherine lives in Melbourne, Australia.

www.quillwielder.com

Thanks

I want to say a big thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read Will Power or Djinn. I appreciate your support in making my dreams come true.

I also want to thank my editor, Lauren McKellan, for all her hard work. My beta readers who tell me what’s what. Thank you, James Haynes, Lyall Haynes, Angelique Ormsby, and Karra Ormsby.

Djinn

Book One in the Djinn series

Out Now!

Kyra’s life is far from normal.

She’s been on the run for as long as she can remember and her father is the only stable thing in her life, but everything changes when the people pursuing them finally catch up.

Kyra is abducted by the handsome and mysterious, Will. He takes her to a secret compound where she is told the truth: She’s a Djinn, a genie-like creature with super powers and a love of dogs.

Kyra has to adjust to the Djinn and their rules, but her new life is far from perfect. Everyone is hiding something and the one person Kyra cares about most is forbidden to her.

There are secrets around every corner and more dangers than Kyra could ever imagine as she struggles to find herself and be with the one she loves.

Will Choose

A Djinn Short

Coming Soon

Will loves Kyra, but he know he can never be with her. He is Guardjinn and she is Djinn. Their love is forbidden.

He has a duty to his people. Will is a palace guard and after the Blooders attacked he is needed more than ever.

Will knows he should stay away from Kyra, but then why does he keep ending up at her house, watching her from a distance?

A choice is coming.
 

What will Will choose?
 

Love or duty?

Blooders

Book Two in the Djinn Series
 

Coming Soon

Kyra knows a lot about herself:
 

She is a Djinn, a magical genie-creature.
 

She can move things with her mind, but only when she’s emotional.

She’s in love with Will, but he is forbidden to her.

But there are things Kyra doesn’t know:

Why are the Blooders after her?

What is her mother hiding?

Why is her best friend avoiding her?

The closer Kyra gets to the truth, the closer she gets to danger and devastation.

But nothing will stop her.